Why should I use a translation vendor, rather than assemble my own freelance translators for a project?

Due to the ever-increasing number of global markets in the petroleum industry, existing companies that want to effectively compete in this arena open new offices in targeted countries and regions. Naturally, this will always present language difficulties as well as cultural differences. Most larger companies in the petroleum industry have traditionally relied upon their in-house resources to perform translations without using a translation vendor. Managers at these companies may think that it is more cost effective to have fellow employees perform the required translations, however, experience shows that in many cases this creates more headaches and cost down the road in spite of any initial benefits.

A translation vendor's chief function is to manage translation projects from the beginning to the end. For bigger projects, especially multilingual ones, your translation vendor will designate a dedicated project manager whose job is to orchestrate the whole process. The translation vendor is constantly improving and growing its translator resource base by recruiting and testing new translators from all over the world. This process allows you to have access to a tremendous talent pool. The translation vendor doesn't just find native speakers for each target language of your project, but also finds subject matter experts with petroleum industry backgrounds.

That is all fine and good, but our employees are native speakers who are also subject matter experts with petroleum industry backgrounds.

This may be true, but you will soon discover that there is a lot more to a translation project than just translation. Translation is an art. It is all about choosing the right word for a particular context. However, each individual translator has a different sense of context, and sometimes a second pair of eyes will spot terminology choices that can be improved upon. That's why the translation vendor will always consult with an editor after a draft translation has been delivered. An editor is a native speaker with a similar technical background, and the editor's job is to make sure the translation includes the correct context-specific terminology.

After editing, it is usually a good idea to submit the document for proofing. Looking for punctuation mistakes, typos and formatting errors is a step most marketing and corporate communications departments include as a matter of course. It is no different with a document being produced in another language.

The process described above is an outline for any project. Of course, the more difficult your project becomes, the more steps it has to go through. Let's say it is a marketing piece. Then some desktop publishing will be involved to make sure the translated text, after expansion, fits in the given space and isn't broken or covered by graphical elements.

There are many obvious advantages in using a translation vendor. The quality and consistency from project to project are guaranteed. Your internal employees can focus on their own work instead of translating, which provides an enormous cost savings over time. Most importantly, you can focus on your work, instead of managing translation resources and projects.

I am always open for discussion - if you have any feedback or comments - please let me know.